Gizmodo: via technologies

ARTiGO DIY Mini-PC Kit for an Awesome Hacker Holiday

Sean Fallon — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:00:10 EST

Starting this Friday, Via Technologies will roll out their ARTiGO do-it-yourself mini-pc kit for any hacker looking for a fun (but brief) holiday project. The package includes an EPIA PX10000 Pico-ITX motherboard with a1-GHz C7 Via processor, a chassis, power adapter, and essential accessories—but you are on your own as far as a hard drive and memory are concerned. More info and a video of the build are available after the break.

When all is said and done, the unit will measure 5.9 inches by 4.3 inches by 1.8 inches and will weigh less than 1.2 pounds. The $300 price tag doesn't exactly scream value when you consider that the kit does not come complete, but it is still cheaper than some of the alternatives out there. [Product Page via ExtremeTech via Wired]

OQO Chipmaker VIA Launches NanoBook, the Cute L'il $600 PDA Killer

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT

Today at the VIA Technology Forum in Taipei, people get the first glimpse of VIA's ultra mobile PC reference design, the NanoBook. Though the term "reference design" might suggest "concept product," this design is actually being picked up. In Europe, Packard Bell will ship it, and VIA will announce its US partner later this month. The ultra-sweet selling points: 1.87-lb weight, up to 5 hours in battery life, and a projected price tag of $600.

The little brushed-steel UMPC has a 7-inch screen with 840x480 resolution and a "touch panel", but it's designed not to be a tablet but to be a little laptop, with a full keyboard. It has two speakers, plus mic in and audio out. There's a 4-in-1 card reader (my guess is that it's all the little cards, and no CF), 802.11g and Bluetooth. If you like metric measurements, it's 230mm x 171mm x 29.4mm in size, and 850g in weight.

The whole thing is powered by an ultra low voltage 1.2GHz VIA C7-M processor (more nerdy details on the chipset here). Naturally, it uses integrated graphics. It will support up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a hard drive of either 30GB or 60GB. The deal is that it will happily support Windows XP, but it won't do a full blown Vista. You would need Vista Basic, and VIA says the option will cost you some of that battery life. It will also assorted flavors of Linux.

A quirky (or perhaps just plain off-key) touch are the MobilityPLUS Modules—little USB devices intended to slip into that funny slot to the right of the screen. Among the modules being discussed for production are a Bluetooth VOIP phone, a GPS unit, a 3G/CDMA adapter, and a world clock. (World clock? Like, I thought Windows XP could handle that all by itself.)

Brushed steel isn't the only finish. As you can see from the spec sheet below, colors are an option. Whether the company selling the NanoBook chooses to order different colors is, of course, unknown. What is known, sadly, is that the name NanoBook will not stick. Will Packard Bell and the US VIA partner come up with another name cute enough to match this computer? I sincerely doubt it. – Wilson Rothman

Product Page [VIA]

Vias New Chips: Way Cool, Quiet, Too

Charlie White — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:44:37 EST

Keeping things cool and quiet, Via Technologies rolled out two new members of its Eden family of processors that can do their work without all that racket from a cooling fan. Called the Eden ULV (Ultra Low Voltage), not only are these 1.5GHz and 1GHz processors fanless, but they won't suck the batteries on your laptop dry, either—they are efficient little buggers. How power-stingy are they? Try a mere 3.5 watts for the 1GHz part, and 7.5 watts for the 1.5GHz. Via is targeting these new processors for applications that need absolute quiet, such as thin clients, silent desktops, or that set-top box in your home theater—you wouldn't want a constant droning noise drowning out the subtleties of your latest cinematic explorations, would you? No pricing yet on these new processors, but they re shipping now.

Via launches 1.5GHz processor that doesn't need a fan [Infoworld]